Independent editor beaten in Bishkek

New York, May 13, 2009--The Committee to Protect
Journalists calls on Kyrgyz authorities to detain, charge, and prosecute three men
who attacked Yrysbek Omurzakov, editor of the independent newspaper Tribuna, in the capital, Bishkek, last
week.

On
May 7, at around 5 p.m., two sedans blocked Omurzakov's marked press vehicle at
an intersection near his office, the editor told CPJ. Omurzakov said he had
stopped at a traffic light when three unknown men jumped out of the vehicles,
grabbed the editor and pulled him out of the car. He said the attackers identified
themselves as police officers and shouted, "Beat all journalists." Omurzakov
told CPJ the attack happened on a busy, downtown street, in front of numerous witnesses,
including traffic police in a nearby car. Omurzakov said the traffic officers did
not intervene.

The
attackers, believed to be in their mid-20s, hit the 51-year-old editor with their
fists and kicked him repeatedly in the head and stomach, Omurzakov said. They left
the scene after Omurzakov fell to the ground and several passersby approached, he
told CPJ. Omurzakov said he was treated for a concussion and severe bruises and
is recovering at home.

"We
condemn this attack on Yrysbek Omurzakov and call on Kyrgyz authorities to
investigate it thoroughly and effectively," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program
Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. "The
assailants' brazen behavior demonstrates their certainty that they can act with
impunity. Responsible officials should prove them wrong."

Omurzakov
edits the twice-monthly newspaper Tribuna,
which is known for its sharp criticism of local authorities, particularly those
in law enforcement. Articles in Tribuna
have exposed wrongdoing among Kyrgyz Interior Ministry officials and have prompted
official investigations. Said Ulugbek Babakulov, editor of the Kyrgyzstan edition
of the Russian newspaper Moskovsky
Komsomolets: "Omurzakov's newspaper is one of the sharpest and the most
critical in Bishkek. People lose their high positions after his stories."

On
May 8, Omurzakov told the Bishkek Press Club, in a report published on its Web
site, that taxi drivers at a nearby stand had taken down the license plates of
the assailants' vehicles, a Mercedes and a Volkswagen. Omurzakov said police apparently
identified one of the assailants immediately after the attack. Disturbingly,
Omurzakov told the Bishkek Press Club, police tried to persuade him to not
press charges against the assailant, saying the man had been under the
influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.

The
attack is second in three months against a journalist in Kyrgyzstan. In
March, an unidentified attacker stabbed Syrgak
Abdyldayev, a political reporter and commentator with the independent newspaper
Reporter-Bishkek 12times and broke his arm after the
journalist criticized the government's economic policies.